United We Can has proposed this Wednesday to the rest of the parliamentary groups a investigation commission in the Congress of Deputies to clarify practices carried out by the company Uber in our country, recently broadcast by various media.
Rafael Mayoraldeputy for United We Can and spokesperson for the Transport Commission, explained in statements sent to the media: “We have been learning about a series of news items in which it is clear that there were tax evasion strategiesstrategies for iinfluence public powers and to break the legality where the corporation was established”.
“It is a scandal of tremendous proportions that puts at risk the legal order of the world’s democracies. We believe that it is time that this does not go unnoticed, it is necessary to investigate, “he added.
What United We Can proposes in this new commission is to “investigate market entry practices by de facto means against the application of current laws on tax, labor, consumer, competition, right of association and right to truthful information” and ” investigate the practices of pressure against public representatives tending to legalize the de facto situation caused by their entry against the law”.
Likewise, it will analyze “the weaknesses of the Spanish and European legal system to face the abusive practices of transnationals that seek to enter the market against the regulatory framework” and the possible “pressure, favor or retribution to officials and authorities to act in favor of the corporation and against the general interest”.
The strategy of chaos
Ten days ago the newspaper Guardian leaked more than 124,000 documents baptized as the Uber papers. The data showed the extent to which co-founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick’s company took advantage of that chaos to expand into 40 countries. The investigation, which was carried out together with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, revealed a possible company strategy to enter European markets through illegal practices, mechanisms of pressure on the authorities and carrying out disinformation campaigns.
In the case of Spain, Uber took advantage of the political tension between Madrid and Barcelona to pressure and impose its conditions in the country. Specifically, the company focused on put pressure on Barcelona and Madrid and took advantage of rivalry between the central government and the Govern to force a pronouncement in favor of the liberalization of the sector or cause one of the parties to decide earlier on the regulation of VTCs. They even talked about convincing the Mossos not to fine drivers and focus on “violent” taxi drivers.
In fact, after his dismissal in Spain, conversations were leaked in which they aspired to pressure and investigate the first spanish judge who decreed it, the magistrate Andres Sanchez Magroto try to find his weaknesses: “It would be useful to have information about the judge, find his weaknesses and take advantage of them”.
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